Murkomen's blindness to Kenya's insecurity crisis is unforgivable

Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen.[File, Standard]

In the midst of heightened public concerns over insecurity and the goon menace, Cabinet Secretary of Internal Security, Kipchumba Murkomen, has assured all and sundry that Kenya is safe, and there is no crisis in the country.

Mr Murkomen, while rightly blaming a handful of politicians who thrive on invective and inflame ethnic passions, termed any references to insecurity in the country a figment of our imagination. He argues, rightly as well, that insecurity is not new in the country. Unashamedly, he reminded Kenyans that previous regimes had their own security challenges. This implies that insecurity has been normalised, and he has no need to go out of his way to deal with the menace.

In what is clearly ridiculous, the CS advises people not to go to places where goons have been sighted, that they should reschedule their plans. Coming from someone charged with keeping Kenyans safe, this is not only dangerously irresponsible, but it also suggests that Murkomen is unfit for the job. Seemingly, he is at the deep end of the pool.

Murkomen claims this country has been safest under Kenya Kwanza and that insecurity in Kerio Valley has been contained. Statistics tell a vastly different story in which even police officers repeatedly get ambushed and killed. Conflict monitoring data from ACLED recorded 170 political violence events involving pastoralist militias in 2022 alone, resulting in at least 193 fatalities, representing a 139 per cent jump over the previous year.

Since then, the carnage has remained unrelenting. In 2023, Marakwet East witnessed fresh bloodletting that claimed police reservists, while local administration officials tallied over 20 deaths in Endo and Arror wards in a matter of weeks. The violence persisted through 2024 with over 20 people killed in Baringo North alone. Catholic priest Father Allois Cheruiyot Bett was gunned down in Tot in May 2025.

Even with continuous multi-agency deployments involving the KDF and specialised police units, 2025 brought more horrors; two schoolchildren shot dead, six killed in Samburu, an ASTU officer slain, and Loruk location chief Victor Sebei murdered at Lemuyek. When law enforcement officers and local administrators are systematically targeted and executed, declaring the region ‘contained’ is delusional.

Furthermore, Murkomen claims he is aware that certain politicians keep and sponsor organised goons. Why has he or the police failed to take definitive action? Knowing who funds violence yet taking no action to arrest and prosecute them is a clear admission of incompetence. Urging citizens to avoid affected regions effectively surrenders public spaces to criminal cartels.

Granted, there have been efforts to contain insecurity in Kenya’s North, but they have been more perfunctory than genuine efforts to eradicate the problem. Murkomen has failed to prove he is equal to the task. He should do the honourable thing and resign to pave the way for a more competent person.